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Alharbi N, Shalash AO, Koirala P, Boer JC, Hussein WM, Khalil ZG, Capon RJ, Plebanski M, Toth I, Skwarczynski M. Cholesterol as an inbuilt immunoadjuvant for a lipopeptide vaccine against group A Streptococcus infection. J Colloid Interface Sci 2024; 663:43-52. [PMID: 38387185 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.02.134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2023] [Revised: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Peptide-based vaccines can trigger highly specific immune responses, although peptides alone are usually unable to confer strong humoral or cellular immunity. Consequently, peptide antigens are administered with immunostimulatory adjuvants, but only a few are safe and effective for human use. To overcome this obstacle, herein a peptide antigen was lipidated to effectively anchor it to liposomes and emulsion. A peptide antigen B cell epitope from Group A Streptococcus M protein was conjugated to a universal T helper epitope, the pan DR-biding epitope (PADRE), alongside a lipidic moiety cholesterol. Compared to a free peptide antigen, the lipidated version (LP1) adopted a helical conformation and self-assembled into small nanoparticles. Surprisingly, LP1 alone induced the same or higher antibody titers than liposomes or emulsion-based formulations. In addition, antibodies produced by mice immunized with LP1 were more opsonic than those induced by administering the antigen with incomplete Freund's adjuvant. No side effects were observed in the immunized mice and no excessive inflammatory immune responses were detected. Overall, this study demonstrated how simple conjugation of cholesterol to a peptide antigen can produce a safe and efficacious vaccine against Group A Streptococcus - the leading cause of superficial infections and the bacteria responsible for deadly post-infection autoimmune disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nedaa Alharbi
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; University of Jeddah, College of Science, Department of Chemistry, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed O Shalash
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Prashamsa Koirala
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jennifer C Boer
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, VIC 3083, Australia
| | - Waleed M Hussein
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Zeinab G Khalil
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Robert J Capon
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Magdalena Plebanski
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, VIC 3083, Australia
| | - Istvan Toth
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Mariusz Skwarczynski
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
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Yuan L, Li X, Li M, Bi R, Li Y, Song J, Li W, Yan M, Luo H, Sun C, Shu Y. In silico design of a broad-spectrum multiepitope vaccine against influenza virus. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 254:128071. [PMID: 37967595 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.128071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
Influenza remains a global health concern due to its potential to cause pandemics as a result of rapidly mutating influenza virus strains. Existing vaccines often struggle to keep up with these rapidly mutating flu viruses. Therefore, the development of a broad-spectrum peptide vaccine that can stimulate an optimal antibody response has emerged as an innovative approach to addressing the influenza threat. In this study, an immunoinformatic approach was employed to rapidly predict immunodominant epitopes from different antigens, aiming to develop an effective multiepitope influenza vaccine (MEV). The immunodominant B-cell linear epitopes of seasonal influenza strains hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) were predicted using an antibody-peptide microarray, involving a human cohort including vaccinees and infected patients. On the other hand, bioinformatics tools were used to predict immunodominant cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) and helper T-cell (HTL) epitopes. Subsequently, these epitopes were evaluated by various immunoinformatic tools. Epitopes with high antigenicity, high immunogenicity, non-allergenicity, non-toxicity, as well as exemplary conservation were then connected in series with appropriate linkers and adjuvants to construct a broad-spectrum MEV. Moreover, the structural analysis revealed that the MEV candidates exhibited good stability, and the docking results demonstrated their strong affinity to Toll-like receptors 4 (TLR4). In addition, molecular dynamics simulation confirmed the stable interaction between TLR4 and MEVs. Three injections with MEVs showed a high level of B-cell and T-cell immune responses according to the immunological simulations in silico. Furthermore, in-silico cloning was performed, and the results indicated that the MEVs could be produced in considerable quantities in Escherichia coli (E. coli). Based on these findings, it is reasonable to create a broad-spectrum MEV against different subtypes of influenza A and B viruses in silico.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lifang Yuan
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, PR China; School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
| | - Xu Li
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, PR China; School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China; Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medicine, Xiangnan University, Chenzhou, Hunan, PR China.
| | - Minchao Li
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, PR China; School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
| | - Rongjun Bi
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, PR China; School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China
| | - Yingrui Li
- Shenzhen Digital Life Institute, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518000, PR China.
| | - Jiaping Song
- Shenzhen Digital Life Institute, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518000, PR China.
| | - Wei Li
- Shenzhen Digital Life Institute, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518000, PR China.
| | - Mingchen Yan
- Shenzhen Digital Life Institute, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518000, PR China
| | - Huanle Luo
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, PR China; School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China; Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510080, PR China.
| | - Caijun Sun
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, PR China; School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China; Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510080, PR China.
| | - Yuelong Shu
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, PR China; School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China; Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510080, PR China; Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100176, PR China.
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3
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Koçkaya ES, Can H, Yaman Y, Ün C. In silico discovery of epitopes of gag and env proteins for the development of a multi-epitope vaccine candidate against Maedi Visna Virus using reverse vaccinology approach. Biologicals 2023; 84:101715. [PMID: 37793308 DOI: 10.1016/j.biologicals.2023.101715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Maedi Visna Virus (MVV) causes a chronic viral disease in sheep. Since there is no specific therapeutic drug that targets MVV, development of a vaccine against the MVV is inevitable. This study aimed to analyze the gag and env proteins as vaccine candidate proteins and to identify epitopes in these proteins. In addition, it was aimed to construct a multi-epitope vaccine candidate. According to the obtained results, the gag protein was detected to be more conserved and had a higher antigenicity value. Also, the number of alpha helix in the secondary structure was higher and transmembrane helices were not detected. Although many B cell and MHC-I/II epitopes were predicted, only 19 of them were detected to have the properties of antigenic, non-allergenic, non-toxic, soluble, and non-hemolytic. Of these epitopes, five were remarkable due to having the highest antigenicity value. However, the final multi-epitope vaccine was constructed with 19 epitopes. A strong affinity was shown between the final multi-epitope vaccine and TLR-2/4. In conclusion, the gag protein was a better antigen. However, both proteins had epitopes with high antigenicity value. Also, the final multi-epitope vaccine construct had a potential to be used as a peptide vaccine due to its immuno-informatics results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ecem Su Koçkaya
- Ege University Faculty of Science Department of Biology Molecular Biology Section, İzmir, Türkiye
| | - Hüseyin Can
- Ege University Faculty of Science Department of Biology Molecular Biology Section, İzmir, Türkiye
| | - Yalçın Yaman
- Siirt University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Genetics, Siirt, Türkiye
| | - Cemal Ün
- Ege University Faculty of Science Department of Biology Molecular Biology Section, İzmir, Türkiye.
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Tataje-Lavanda L, Málaga E, Verastegui M, Mayta Huatuco E, Icochea E, Fernández-Díaz M, Zimic M. Identification and evaluation in-vitro of conserved peptides with high affinity to MHC-I as potential protective epitopes for Newcastle disease virus vaccines. BMC Vet Res 2023; 19:196. [PMID: 37805566 PMCID: PMC10559636 DOI: 10.1186/s12917-023-03726-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Newcastle disease (ND) is a major threat to the poultry industry, leading to significant economic losses. The current ND vaccines, usually based on active or attenuated strains, are only partially effective and can cause adverse effects post-vaccination. Therefore, the development of safer and more efficient vaccines is necessary. Epitopes represent the antigenic portion of the pathogen and their identification and use for immunization could lead to safer and more effective vaccines. However, the prediction of protective epitopes for a pathogen is a major challenge, especially taking into account the immune system of the target species. RESULTS In this study, we utilized an artificial intelligence algorithm to predict ND virus (NDV) peptides that exhibit high affinity to the chicken MHC-I complex. We selected the peptides that are conserved across different NDV genotypes and absent in the chicken proteome. From the filtered peptides, we synthesized the five peptides with the highest affinities for the L, HN, and F proteins of NDV. We evaluated these peptides in-vitro for their ability to elicit cell-mediated immunity, which was measured by the lymphocyte proliferation in spleen cells of chickens previously immunized with NDV. CONCLUSIONS Our study identified five peptides with high affinity to MHC-I that have the potential to serve as protective epitopes and could be utilized for the development of multi-epitope NDV vaccines. This approach can provide a safer and more efficient method for NDV immunization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Tataje-Lavanda
- Research and Development Laboratories, FARVET SAC, Chincha Alta, Ica, Peru.
- Laboratory of Clinical Molecular Virology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, National University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru.
- School of Human Medicine, Private University San Juan Bautista, Lima, Peru.
| | - Edith Málaga
- Research Laboratory On Infectious Diseases, Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University, Lima, Peru
| | - Manuela Verastegui
- Research Laboratory On Infectious Diseases, Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University, Lima, Peru
| | - Egma Mayta Huatuco
- Laboratory of Clinical Molecular Virology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, National University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru
| | - Eliana Icochea
- Avian Pathology Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, National University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru
| | | | - Mirko Zimic
- Research and Development Laboratories, FARVET SAC, Chincha Alta, Ica, Peru
- Bioinformatics, Molecular Biology, and Technological Developments Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Philosophy, Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University, Lima, Peru
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5
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Miles S, Dematteis S, Mourglia-Ettlin G. Experimental cystic echinococcosis as a proof of concept for the development of peptide-based vaccines following a novel rational workflow. Biologicals 2023; 82:101684. [PMID: 37201271 DOI: 10.1016/j.biologicals.2023.101684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Vaccines are among the most important advances in medicine throughout the human history. However, conventional vaccines exhibit several drawbacks in terms of design and production costs. Peptide-based vaccines are attractive alternatives, since they can be designed mainly in silico, can be produced cheaply and safely, and are able to induce immune responses exclusively towards protective epitopes. Yet, a proper peptide design is needed, not only to generate peptide-specific immune responses, but also for them to recognize the native protein in the occurrence of a natural infection. Herein, we propose a rational workflow for developing peptide-based vaccines including novel steps that assure the cross-recognition of native proteins. In this regard, we increased the probability of generating efficient antibodies through the selection of linear B-cell epitopes free of post-translational modifications followed by analyzing the 3D-structure similarity between the peptide in-solution vs. within its parental native protein. As a proof of concept, this workflow was applied to a set of seven previously suggested potential protective antigens against the infection by Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato. Finally, two peptides were obtained showing the capacity to induce specific antibodies able to exert anti-parasite activities in different in vitro settings, as well as to provide significant protection in the murine model of secondary echinococcosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Miles
- Area Inmunología, DEPBIO/IQB, Facultad de Química/Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la Republica, Montevideo, Uruguay; Graduate Program in Chemistry, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay
| | - Sylvia Dematteis
- Area Inmunología, DEPBIO/IQB, Facultad de Química/Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la Republica, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Gustavo Mourglia-Ettlin
- Area Inmunología, DEPBIO/IQB, Facultad de Química/Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la Republica, Montevideo, Uruguay.
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Yilmaz-Ozturk R, Calik H, Yaman S, Ustun-Karatop E, Cakir-Koc R. Immunogenic evaluation of multi-epitope peptide-loaded PCPP microparticles as a vaccine candidate against Toxoplasma Gondii. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis 2023; 92:101927. [PMID: 36528908 DOI: 10.1016/j.cimid.2022.101927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Toxoplasmosis is a major health problem and socioeconomic burden, affecting around 30-50% of the global population. Poly(dicarboxylatophenoxy)phosphazene (PCPP) polymer was chosen as adjuvant for the immunogenic peptide antigen. Peptide-loaded PCPP microparticles were synthesized via the coacervation method and the characterization studies of microparticles were conducted to determine their size, charge, morphology, encapsulation efficacy, and loading capacity. To evaluate in vivo efficacy of the vaccine candidate, Balb/c mice were immunized with the formulations. Brain and spleen tissues were isolated from animals to investigate cytokine levels, lymphocyte proliferation, and brain cyst formation. As a result, antibody and cytokine responses in groups immunized with peptide-loaded PCPP microparticles were found to be significantly higher when compared to the control group. In conclusion, our novel multi-epitope peptide-loaded PCPP microparticle-based vaccine formulation demonstrated considerable humoral and cellular immune responses against T. gondii and protected mice against T. gondii infection during Toxoplasmosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rabia Yilmaz-Ozturk
- Yildiz Technical University, Department of Bioengineering, Istanbul 34220, Turkey; Health Institutes of Turkey (TUSEB), Turkey Biotechnology Institute, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Hilal Calik
- Yildiz Technical University, Department of Bioengineering, Istanbul 34220, Turkey
| | - Serkan Yaman
- Gumushane University, Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, Gumushane 29100, Turkey; Health Institutes of Turkey (TUSEB), Turkey Biotechnology Institute, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Eslin Ustun-Karatop
- University of Ottawa, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ottawa, ON K1N6N5, Canada
| | - Rabia Cakir-Koc
- Yildiz Technical University, Department of Bioengineering, Istanbul 34220, Turkey; Health Institutes of Turkey (TUSEB), Turkey Biotechnology Institute, Istanbul, Turkey.
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Serrano-Quintero A, Sequeda-Juárez A, Pérez-Hernández CA, Sosa-Delgado SM, Mendez-Tenorio A, Ramón-Gallegos E. Immunogenic analysis of epitope-based vaccine candidate induced by photodynamic therapy in MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast cancer cells. Photodiagnosis Photodyn Ther 2022; 40:103174. [PMID: 36602069 DOI: 10.1016/j.pdpdt.2022.103174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is used to treat tumors through selective cytotoxic effects. PDT induces damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) expression, which can cause an immunogenic death cell (IDC). In this study we identified potential immunogenic epitopes generated by PDT on triple-negative breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231). METHODS MDA-MB-231 cells were exposed to PDT using ALA (160 µg/mL)/630 nm at 8 J/cm2. Membrane proteins were extracted and separated by 2D PAGE. Proteins overexpressed were identified by LC-MS/MS and analyzed in silico through a peptide-HLA docking in order to identify the epitopes with more immunogenicity and antigenicity properties, as well as lower allergenicity and toxicity activity. The selected peptides were evaluated in response to macrophage activation and cytokine release by flow cytometry. RESULTS Differential proteins were overexpressed in the cells treated with PDT. A group of 16 peptides were identified from them, established in a rigorous selection by measuring antigenicity, immunogenicity, allergenicity, and toxicity in silico. The final selection was based on molecular dynamics, where 2 peptides showed the highest stability regarding to the RMSD value. These peptides were obtained from the proteins calreticulin and HSP90. The cytokine analysis evidenced macrophage activation by the releasing of TNF. CONCLUSION Two peptides were identified from calreticulin and HSP90; proteins induced by PDT in MDA-MB-231 cells. Both epitopes showed immunogenic potential as a peptide-based vaccine for triple-negative breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina Serrano-Quintero
- Laboratorio de Citopatología Ambiental, ENCB, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), Campus Zacatenco, Calle Wilfrido Massieu Esquina Cda. Manuel Stampa, Col. Zacatenco. Alcaldia Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City C.P. 07738, Mexico
| | - Alfonso Sequeda-Juárez
- Laboratorio de Citopatología Ambiental, ENCB, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), Campus Zacatenco, Calle Wilfrido Massieu Esquina Cda. Manuel Stampa, Col. Zacatenco. Alcaldia Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City C.P. 07738, Mexico
| | - C Angélica Pérez-Hernández
- Laboratorio de Citopatología Ambiental, ENCB, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), Campus Zacatenco, Calle Wilfrido Massieu Esquina Cda. Manuel Stampa, Col. Zacatenco. Alcaldia Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City C.P. 07738, Mexico
| | - Sara M Sosa-Delgado
- Laboratorio de Citopatología Ambiental, ENCB, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), Campus Zacatenco, Calle Wilfrido Massieu Esquina Cda. Manuel Stampa, Col. Zacatenco. Alcaldia Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City C.P. 07738, Mexico
| | - Alfonso Mendez-Tenorio
- Laboratorio de Bioinformática y Biotecnología Genómica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
| | - Eva Ramón-Gallegos
- Laboratorio de Citopatología Ambiental, ENCB, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), Campus Zacatenco, Calle Wilfrido Massieu Esquina Cda. Manuel Stampa, Col. Zacatenco. Alcaldia Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City C.P. 07738, Mexico.
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Quach HQ, Ovsyannikova IG, Poland GA, Kennedy RB. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 peptide-specific antibodies in Syrian hamster serum by ELISA. J Immunol Methods 2022; 505:113275. [PMID: 35439529 PMCID: PMC9013014 DOI: 10.1016/j.jim.2022.113275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Golden Syrian hamsters are increasingly used as a permissive animal model for SARS-CoV-2 virus studies, but the lack of immunological assays and other immunological reagents for hamsters limits its full potential. Herein, we developed an ELISA method to detect antibodies specific to peptides and proteins derived from SARS-CoV-2 virus in immunized golden Syrian hamsters. Under optimized conditions, this assay quantitates antibodies specific for individual viral peptides, peptide pools, and proteins. Hence, this ELISA method allows investigators to quantitatively assess humoral immune responses at the peptide and protein levels and has potential application in the development of peptide-based vaccines to be tested in hamsters.
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Moten D, Kolchakova D, Todorov K, Mladenova T, Dzhambazov B. Design of an Epitope-Based Peptide Vaccine Against the Major Allergen Amb a 11 Using Immunoinformatic Approaches. Protein J 2022. [PMID: 35362839 DOI: 10.1007/s10930-022-10050-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Allergic diseases are a socially significant problem of global importance. The number of people suffering from pollen allergies has increased dramatically in recent decades. Pollen allergies affect up to 30% of the world population. Pollen of the common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) is one of the most aggressive allergens in the world. We have used a series of immunoinformatics approaches to design an effective epitope-based vaccine, which might induce a competent immunity against a major allergen Amb a 11. CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell epitopes and their corresponding MHC restricted alleles were identified by prediction tools provided by immune epitope database (IEDB). Among T-cell epitopes, MHC class I peptide (GLMEPAFTYV) and MHC class II peptide (LVCFSFSLVLILGLV) were identified as most suitable. From all predicted B-cell epitopes, only one epitope (GKLVKFSEQQLVDC) containing sequence from the conserved region was chosen for next processing. Selected epitopes have been validated by molecular docking analysis. These epitopes showed a very strong binding affinity to MHC I molecule and MHC II molecule with binding energy scores − 729.3 and − 725.0 kcal/mole respectively. Performed experimental validation showed that only the MHC class II peptide (LVCFSFSLVLILGLV) can stimulate T cells from ragweed allergic patients and IgE antibodies specific to the ragweed pollen do not recognize this epitope. Therefore, this peptide could be potentially used as a vaccine against the major allergen Amb a 11. The B-cell epitope GKLVKFSEQQLVDC forms a stable complex with the IgE molecule (energy weighted score − 695,0 kcal/mole). Tested sera from patients with ragweed allergy showed that the ragweed specific IgE antibodies can bind to the identified B-cell epitope. Population coverage analysis was performed for CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell epitopes. It was predicted that CD4+ T-cell epitope (LVCFSFSLVLILGLV) covers 90.56% of the population of Europe and 99.36% of the world population. CD8+ T-cell epitope (GLMEPAFTYV) has a population coverage of 77.37% for Europe and 71.35% for all the world.
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Bhattacharya M, Chatterjee S, Nag S, Dhama K, Chakraborty C. Designing, characterization, and immune stimulation of a novel multi-epitopic peptide-based potential vaccine candidate against monkeypox virus through screening its whole genome encoded proteins: An immunoinformatics approach. Travel Med Infect Dis 2022; 50:102481. [PMID: 36265732 PMCID: PMC9575583 DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2022.102481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 09/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Background The current monkeypox virus (MPXV) spread in the non-epidemic regions raises global concern. Presently, the smallpox vaccine is used against monkeypox with several difficulties. Conversely, no next-generation vaccine is available against MPXV. Here, we proposed a novel multi-epitopic peptide-based in-silico potential vaccine candidate against the monkeypox virus. Methods The multi-epitopic potential vaccine construct was developed from antigen screening through whole genome-encoded 176 proteins of MPXV. Afterward, ten common B and T cell epitopes (9-mer) having the highest antigenicity and high population coverage were chosen, and a vaccine construct was developed using peptide linkers. The vaccine was characterized through bioinformatics to understand antigenicity, non-allergenicity, physicochemical properties, and binding affinity to immune receptors (TLR4/MD2-complex). Finally, the immune system simulation of the vaccine was performed through immunoinformatics and machine learning approaches. Results The highest antigenic epitopes were used to design the vaccine. The docked complex of the vaccine and TLR4/MD2 had shown significant free binding energy (−98.37 kcal/mol) with a definite binding affinity. Likewise, the eigenvalue (2.428517e-05) from NMA analysis of this docked complex reflects greater flexibility, adequate molecular motion, and reduced protein deformability, and it can provoke a robust immune response. Conclusions The designed vaccine has shown the required effectiveness against MPXV without any side effects, a significant milestone against the neglected disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manojit Bhattacharya
- Department of Zoology, Fakir Mohan University, Vyasa Vihar, Balasore, 756020, Odisha, India
| | - Srijan Chatterjee
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Adamas University, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700126, India
| | - Sagnik Nag
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Biosciences & Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Tamil Nadu, 632014, India
| | - Kuldeep Dhama
- Division of Pathology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, 243122, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Chiranjib Chakraborty
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Adamas University, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700126, India,Corresponding author
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11
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION Breast cancer (BC) is the first common neoplastic malignancy and the second leading cause of death in women worldwide. Conventional treatments for BC are often associated with severe side effects and may even lead to late recurrence. For this reason, in recent years, cancer immunotherapy (e.g., cancer vaccines), a novel approach based on the specificity and amplification of acquired immune responses, has been considered as a potential candidate in particular to treat metastatic BC. AREAS COVERED In this review, we summarize and discuss the recent development of therapeutic vaccines for BC, use of specific BC cellular antigens, antigen selection, and probable causes for their insufficient effectiveness. EXPERT OPINION Despite development of several different BC vaccines strategies including protein/peptide, dendritic cell, and genetic vaccines, until now, no BC vaccine has been approved for clinical use. Most of the current BC vaccines themselves fail to bring clinical benefit to BC patients and are applied in combination with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or targeted therapy. It is hoped that with advances in our knowledge about tumor microenvironment and the development of novel combination strategies, the tumor immunosuppressive mechanisms can be overcome and prolonged immunologic and effective anti-tumor response can be developed in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Abbaspour
- Department of pharmaceutical biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Vajihe Akbari
- Department of pharmaceutical biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.,Isfahan Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
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12
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Hosseini SS, Aghaiypour Kolyani K, Rafiei Tabatabaei R, Goudarzi H, Akhavan Sepahi A, Salemi M. In silico prediction of B and T cell epitopes based on NDV fusion protein for vaccine development against Newcastle disease virus. Vet Res Forum 2021; 12:157-165. [PMID: 34345381 PMCID: PMC8328245 DOI: 10.30466/vrf.2019.98625.2351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Newcastle disease (ND) is known as the most common diseases of economic importance worldwide. Vaccination against virulent strains of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) has failed during some outbreaks. Here, we aimed to assess the epitopes of NDV fusion protein as targets for a peptide-based vaccine. To explore the most antigenic epitopes on the F protein, we retrieved virulent strains of genotype VII from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Linear and conformational B-cell epitopes were identified. Moreover, T-cell epitopes with high and moderate binding affinities to human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and class II alleles were predicted using bioinformatics tools. Subsequently, the overlapped epitopes of B-cell and MHC class I and MHC class II were determined. To validate our predictions, the best epitopes were docked, to chicken MHC class I (B-F) alleles using the HADDOCK flexible docking server. Seven ‘high ranked epitopes’ were identified. Among them, ‘LYCTRIVTF’ and ‘MRATYLETL’ showed the highest scores. The other five epitopes including LSGEFDATY, LTTPPYMALK, LYLTELTTV, DCIKITQQV and SIAATNEAV obtained very encouraging results as well. SIAATNEAV had been recognized as a neutralizing epitope of F protein using monoclonal antibodies before. Taken together, our results demonstrated that the identified epitopes needed to be tested by in vitro and in vivo experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Khosrow Aghaiypour Kolyani
- Department of Genomics and Genetic Engineering, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute (RVSRI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
| | - Robab Rafiei Tabatabaei
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran North Branch, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hossein Goudarzi
- Central Laboratory Department, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute Agricultural Research, AREEO, Karaj, Iran
| | - Abbas Akhavan Sepahi
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Tehran North Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maryam Salemi
- Department of Genomics and Genetic Engineering, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute (RVSRI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
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13
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Olotu FA, Soliman MES. Immunoinformatics prediction of potential B-cell and T-cell epitopes as effective vaccine candidates for eliciting immunogenic responses against Epstein-Barr virus. Biomed J 2021; 44:317-337. [PMID: 34154948 PMCID: PMC8358216 DOI: 10.1016/j.bj.2020.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Revised: 11/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ongoing search for viable treatment options to curtail Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) pathogenicity has necessitated a paradigmatic shift towards the design of peptide-based vaccines. Potential B-cell and T-cell epitopes were predicted for nine antigenic EBV proteins that mediate epithelial cell-attachment and spread, capsid self-assembly, DNA replication and processivity. METHODS Predictive algorithms incorporated in the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB) resources were used to determine potential B-cell epitopes based on their physicochemical attributes. These were combined with a string-kernel method and an antigenicity predictive AlgPred tool to enhance accuracy in the end-point selection of highly potential antigenic EBV B-cell epitopes. NetCTL 1.2 algorithms enabled the prediction of probable T-cell epitopes which were structurally modeled and subjected to blind peptide-protein docking with HLA-A*02:01. All-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and Molecular Mechanics Generalized-Born Surface Area methods were used to investigate interaction dynamics and affinities of predicted T-cell peptide-protein complexes. RESULTS Computational predictions and sequence overlapping analysis yielded 18 linear (continuous) and discontinuous (conformational) subunit epitopes from the antigenic proteins with characteristic surface accessibility, flexibility and antigenicity, and predictive scores above the threshold value (1) set. A novel site was identified on HLA-A*02:01 with preferential affinity binding for modeled BMRF2, BXLF1 and BGLF4 T-cell epitopes. Interaction dynamics and energies were also computed in addition to crucial residues that mediated complex formation and stability. CONCLUSION This study implemented an integrative meta-analytical approach to model highly probable B-cell and T-cell epitopes as potential peptide-vaccine candidates for the treatment of EBV-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fisayo A Olotu
- Molecular Bio-computation and Drug Design Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban, South Africa
| | - Mahmoud E S Soliman
- Molecular Bio-computation and Drug Design Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban, South Africa.
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14
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Abduljaleel Z, Al-Allaf FA, Aziz SA. Peptides-based vaccine against SARS- nCoV-2 antigenic fragmented synthetic epitopes recognized by T cell and β-cell initiation of specific antibodies to fight the infection. Biodes Manuf 2021; 4:490-505. [PMID: 33552630 PMCID: PMC7856345 DOI: 10.1007/s42242-020-00114-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The World Health Organization has declared the rapidly spreading coronavirus to be a global pandemic. The FDA is yet to approve a vaccine for human novel coronavirus. Here, we developed a peptide-based vaccine and used high-throughput screening by molecular dynamics simulation to identify T-cell- and β-cell-recognized epitopes for producing specific antibodies against SARS-nCoV-2. We construct ~ 12 P' antigenic epitope peptides to develop a more effective vaccine and identify specific antibodies. These epitope peptides selectively presented the best antigen presentation scores for both human pMHC class I and II alleles to develop a strong binding affinity. All antigens identified of SARS-nCoV-2 different proteins by each attached specific ~ 1-7 L linker adaptor were used to construct a broad single peripheral peptide vaccine. It is expected to be highly antigenic with a minimum allergic effect. As a result of these exciting outcomes, expressing a vaccine using the intimated peptide was highly promising and positive to be highly proposed as epitope-based peptide vaccine of specific antibody against SARS-nCoV-2 by initiating T cells and β-cells. An in vitro study for the proposed peptide-based vaccine is mostly recommended. Further clinical trials are required to check the efficacy of this vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zainularifeen Abduljaleel
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, P.O. Box 715, Mecca, 21955 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Science and Technology Unit, Umm Al-Qura University, P.O. Box 715, Mecca, 21955 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- The Regional Laboratory, Molecular Diagnostics Unit, Department of Molecular Biology, Ministry of Health (MOH), P.O. Box 6251, Mecca, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Faisal A. Al-Allaf
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, P.O. Box 715, Mecca, 21955 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Syed A. Aziz
- Department of Pathology and Lab Medicine, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5 Canada
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15
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Bartlett S, Skwarczynski M, Toth I. Lipids as Activators of Innate Immunity in Peptide Vaccine Delivery. Curr Med Chem 2020; 27:2887-2901. [PMID: 30362416 DOI: 10.2174/0929867325666181026100849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Revised: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Innate immune system plays an important role in pathogen detection and the recognition of vaccines, mainly through pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that identify pathogen components (danger signals). One of the typically recognised bacterial components are lipids in conjugation with peptides, proteins and saccharides. Lipidic compounds are readily recognised by the immune system, and thus are ideal candidates for peptide- based vaccine delivery. Thus, bacterial or synthetic lipids mixed with, or conjugated to, antigens have shown adjuvant properties. These systems have many advantages over traditional adjuvants, including low toxicity and good efficacy for stimulating mucosal and systemic immune responses. METHODS The most recent literature on the role of lipids in stimulation of immune responses was selected for this review. The vast majority of reviewed papers were published in the last decade. Older but significant findings are also cited. RESULTS This review focuses on the development of lipopeptide vaccine systems including application of palmitic acid, bacterial lipopeptides, glycolipids and the lipid core peptide and their routes of administration. The use of liposomes as a delivery system that incorporates lipopeptides is discussed. The review also includes a brief description of immune system in relation to vaccinology and discussion on vaccine delivery routes. CONCLUSION Lipids and their conjugates are an ideal frontrunner in the development of safe and efficient vaccines for different immunisation routes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacey Bartlett
- The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry & Molecular Biosciences, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Mariusz Skwarczynski
- The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry & Molecular Biosciences, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Istvan Toth
- The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry & Molecular Biosciences, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.,The University of Queensland, School of Pharmacy, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102, Australia.,The University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
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16
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Chauhan S, Kumar R, Khan N, Verma S, Sehgal R, Tripathi PK, Farooq U. Designing peptide-based vaccine candidates for Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte binding antigen 175. Biologicals 2020; 67:42-48. [PMID: 32718776 DOI: 10.1016/j.biologicals.2020.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2020] [Revised: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium falciparum leads to a virulent form of malaria. Progress has been achieved in understanding the mechanisms involved in the malarial infection, still there is no effective vaccine to prevent severe infection. An effective vaccine against malaria should be one which can induce immune responses against multiple epitopes in the context of predominantly occurring HLA alleles. In this study, an integrated approach was employed to identify promiscuous peptides of a well-defined sequence of erythrocyte binding antigen-175 and promiscuous peptides for HLA alleles were designed using bioinformatics tools. A peptide with 15 amino acids (ILAIAIYESRILKRK) was selected based on its high binding affinity score and synthesized. This promiscuous peptide was used as stimulating antigen in lymphoproliferative responses to evaluate the cellular immune response. It was observed this peptide evokes lymphoproliferative and cytokine responses in individuals naturally exposed to the malaria parasite. The intensity of PBMCs proliferation was observed to be higher in sera obtained from P. falciparum exposed as compared to unexposed healthy individuals, suggesting earlier recognition of peptide of this region by T cells. Furthermore, the binding mode of HLA-peptide complex and their interaction may lead to a rational and selective peptide-based vaccine candidate design approach which can be used as a malaria prophylaxis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shakti Chauhan
- Molecular and Immune-parasitology Laboratory, Shoolini University, Solan, India
| | - Rajender Kumar
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, SE-90185, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Nazam Khan
- Molecular and Immune-parasitology Laboratory, Shoolini University, Solan, India
| | - Swati Verma
- Department of Microbiology, Maharaja Ganga Singh University, Bikaner, India
| | - Rakesh Sehgal
- Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India
| | | | - Umar Farooq
- Molecular and Immune-parasitology Laboratory, Shoolini University, Solan, India.
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17
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Roy P, Ali AJ, Kobiyama K, Ghosheh Y, Ley K. Opportunities for an atherosclerosis vaccine: From mice to humans. Vaccine 2020; 38:4495-4506. [PMID: 31964554 PMCID: PMC7939143 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.12.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2019] [Revised: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Atherosclerosis, the major underlying cause of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), is the number one killer globally. The disease pathogenesis involves a complex interplay between metabolic and immune components. Although lipid-lowering drugs such as statins curb the risks associated with CVD, significant residual inflammatory risk remains. Substantial evidence from experimental models and clinical studies has established the role of inflammation and immune effector mechanisms in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Several stages of the disease are affected by host-mediated antigen-specific adaptive immune responses that play either protective or proatherogenic roles. Therefore, strategies to boost an anti-atherogenic humoral and T regulatory cell response are emerging as preventative or therapeutic strategies to lowering inflammatory residual risks. Vaccination holds promise as an efficient, durable and relatively inexpensive approach to induce protective adaptive immunity in atherosclerotic patients. In this review, we discuss the status and opportunities for a human atherosclerosis vaccine. We describe (1) some of the immunomodulatory therapeutic interventions tested in atherosclerosis (2) the immune targets identified in pre-clinical and clinical investigations (3) immunization strategies evaluated in animal models (4) past and ongoing clinical trials to examine the safety and efficacy of human atherosclerosis vaccines and (5) strategies to improve and optimize vaccination in humans (antigen selection, formulation, dose and delivery).
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Affiliation(s)
- Payel Roy
- Division of Inflammation Biology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, 9420, Athena Circle Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Amal J Ali
- Division of Inflammation Biology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, 9420, Athena Circle Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Kouji Kobiyama
- Division of Inflammation Biology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, 9420, Athena Circle Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Division of Vaccine Science, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
| | - Yanal Ghosheh
- Division of Inflammation Biology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, 9420, Athena Circle Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Klaus Ley
- Division of Inflammation Biology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, 9420, Athena Circle Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC0412, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
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18
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Reyes C, Molina-Franky J, Aza-Conde J, Suárez CF, Pabón L, Moreno-Vranich A, Patarroyo MA, Patarroyo ME. Malaria: Paving the way to developing peptide-based vaccines against invasion in infectious diseases. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2020; 527:1021-1026. [PMID: 32439169 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.05.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Malaria remains a large-scale public health problem, killing more than 400,000 people and infecting up to 230 million worldwide, every year. Unfortunately, despite numerous efforts and research concerning vaccine development, results to date have been low and/or strain-specific. This work describes a strategy involving Plasmodium falciparum Duffy binding-like (DBL) and reticulocyte-binding protein homologue (RH) family-derived minimum functional peptides, netMHCIIpan3.2 parental and modified peptides' in silico binding prediction and modeling some Aotus major histocompatibility class II (MHCII) molecules based on known human molecules' structure to understand their differences. These are used to explain peptides' immunological behaviour when used as vaccine components in the Aotus model. Despite the great similarity between human and Aotus immune system molecules, around 50% of Aotus allele molecules lack a counterpart in the human immune system which could lead to an Aotus-specific vaccine. It was also confirmed that functional Plasmodium falciparum' conserved proteins are immunologically silent (in both the animal model and in-silico prediction); they must therefore be modified to elicit an appropriate immune response. Some peptides studied here had the desired behaviour and can thus be considered components of a fully-protective antimalarial vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- César Reyes
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá, Colombia; PhD Programme in Biomedical and Biological Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Jessica Molina-Franky
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá, Colombia; PhD Programme in Biomedical and Biological Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia; Universidad de Boyacá, Tunja, Colombia
| | - Jorge Aza-Conde
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Carlos F Suárez
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá, Colombia; School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Laura Pabón
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Armando Moreno-Vranich
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá, Colombia; Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales (U.D.C.A), Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Manuel A Patarroyo
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá, Colombia; School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Manuel E Patarroyo
- Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá, Colombia; Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
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19
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Dai C, Stephenson RJ, Skwarczynski M, Toth I. Application of Fmoc-SPPS, Thiol-Maleimide Conjugation, and Copper(I)-Catalyzed Alkyne-Azide Cycloaddition "Click" Reaction in the Synthesis of a Complex Peptide-Based Vaccine Candidate Against Group A Streptococcus. Methods Mol Biol 2020; 2103:13-27. [PMID: 31879916 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0227-0_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) is the most common approach used to synthesize natural and unnatural peptides. However, the synthesis of sequences longer than 30-60 amino acids is associated with a drastic reduction in peptide quality. Thus, large and complex peptides are normally synthesized as fragments, which are then conjugated together. Here, we describe the synthesis of a large, branched peptide, a multi-epitope vaccine candidate against Group A Streptococcus, with the help of microwave-assisted Fmoc-SPPS, thiol-maleimide conjugation, and copper(I)-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) "click" reaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuankai Dai
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Rachel J Stephenson
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Mariusz Skwarczynski
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Istvan Toth
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia.
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia.
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia.
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Abstract
Peptide-based vaccines are an appealing strategy which involves usage of short synthetic peptides to engineer a highly targeted immune response. These short synthetic peptides contain potential T- and B-cell epitopes. Experimental approaches in identifying these epitopes are time-consuming and expensive; hence immunoinformatics approach came into picture. Immuninformatics approach involves epitope prediction tools, molecular docking, and population coverage analysis in design of desired immunogenic peptides. In order to overcome the antigenic variation of viruses, conserved regions are targeted to find the potential epitopes. The present chapter demonstrates the use of immunoinformatics approach to select potential peptide containing multiple T- (CD8+ and CD4+) and B-cell epitopes from Avian H3N2 M1 Protein. Further, molecular docking (to analyse HLA-peptide interaction) and population coverage analysis have been used to verify the potential of peptide to be presented by polymorphic HLA molecules. In silico approach of epitope prediction has proven to be successful methodology in screening the putative epitopes among numerous possible vaccine targets in a given protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neha Lohia
- Department of Biotechnology, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, India.
- School of Life Sciences, Jaipur National University, Jaipur, India.
| | - Manoj Baranwal
- Department of Biotechnology, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, India
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21
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Singh M, Bhatt P, Sharma M, Varma-Basil M, Chaudhry A, Sharma S. Immunogenicity of late stage specific peptide antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Infect Genet Evol 2019; 74:103930. [PMID: 31228643 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2019.103930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2019] [Revised: 05/06/2019] [Accepted: 06/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Global burden of latent TB infection comprises one-third of the world population. Identifying potential Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) latency associated antigens that can generate protective immunity against the pathogen is crucial for designing an effective TB vaccine. Usually the immune system responds to a small number of amino acids as MHC Class I or Class II peptides. The precision to trigger epitope specific protective T-cell immune response could therefore be achieved with synthetic peptide-based subunit vaccine. In the present study we have considered an immunoinformatic approach using available softwares (ProPred, IEDB, NETMHC, BIMAS, Vaxijen2.0) and docking and visualizing softwares (CABSDOCK, HEX, Pymol, Discovery Studio) to select 10 peptides as latency antigens from 4 proteins (Rv2626, Rv2627, Rv2628, and Rv2032) of DosR regulon of Mtb. As Intracellular IFN-γ secreted by T cells is the most essential cytokine in Th1 mediated protective immunity, these peptides were verified as potential immunogenic epitopes in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) of 10 healthy contacts of TB patients (HTB) and 10 Category I Pulmonary TB patients (PTB).The antigen-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells expressing intracellular IFN-γ were analyzed using monoclonal antibodies in all subjects by multi-parameter flow cytometry. Both, PTB and HTB individuals responded to DosR peptides by showing increased frequency of IFN-γ+CD4 and IFN-γ+CD8 T cells. The T-cell responses were significantly higher in PTB patients in comparision to the HTB individuals. Additionally, our synthetic peptides and pools showed higher frequencies of IFN-γ+CD4 and IFN-γ+CD8 T cells than the peptides of Ag85B. This pilot study can be taken up further in larger sample size which may support the untapped opportunity of designing Mtb DosR inclusive peptide based post-exposure subunit vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Medha Singh
- DS Kothari Centre for Research and Innovation in Science Education, Miranda House and Department of Zoology, Miranda House, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
| | - Parul Bhatt
- DS Kothari Centre for Research and Innovation in Science Education, Miranda House and Department of Zoology, Miranda House, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
| | - Monika Sharma
- DS Kothari Centre for Research and Innovation in Science Education, Miranda House and Department of Zoology, Miranda House, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
| | | | - Anil Chaudhry
- Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis Hospital, GTB Nagar, Delhi 110009, India
| | - Sadhna Sharma
- DS Kothari Centre for Research and Innovation in Science Education, Miranda House and Department of Zoology, Miranda House, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India.
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22
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Jacoberger-Foissac C, Saliba H, Seguin C, Brion A, Kakhi Z, Frisch B, Fournel S, Heurtault B. Optimization of peptide-based cancer vaccine compositions, by sequential screening, using versatile liposomal platform. Int J Pharm 2019; 562:342-350. [PMID: 30880104 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2019.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Revised: 03/01/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Therapeutic cancer vaccines need thoughtful design to efficiently deliver appropriate antigens and adjuvants to the immune system. In the current study, we took advantage of the versatility of a liposomal platform to conceive and customize vaccines containing three elements needed for the induction of efficient antitumor immunity: i) a CD4 epitope peptide able to activate CD4+ T helper cells, ii) a CD8 tumor-specific epitope peptide recognized by CD8+ T cytotoxic cells and iii) Pattern Recognition Receptor (PRR) agonists which stand as adjuvants. Each type of component, conjugated to liposomes, was evaluated individually by comparing their vaccine efficacy after immunization of naïve mice. These screening steps resulted in the optimization of three liposomal constructs bearing a peptide from HA influenza virus protein as CD4 epitope, a peptide from HPV16 E7 oncoprotein as CD8 epitope and TLR4, TLR2/6 or NOD1 agonists as adjuvant, which displayed antitumor efficiency against a mouse model of disseminated tumors transformed by HPV16. Our results validated the interest of our customizable liposomal platform as delivery system for cancer vaccination. We also demonstrated its interest as tool for vaccine design allowing the strategical selection of components, and the evaluation of epitope-adjuvant association.
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Affiliation(s)
- Célia Jacoberger-Foissac
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 3Bio Team, Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France
| | - Hanadi Saliba
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 3Bio Team, Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France
| | - Cendrine Seguin
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 3Bio Team, Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France
| | - Anaïs Brion
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 3Bio Team, Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France
| | - Zahra Kakhi
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 3Bio Team, Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France
| | - Benoît Frisch
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 3Bio Team, Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France
| | - Sylvie Fournel
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 3Bio Team, Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France
| | - Béatrice Heurtault
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 3Bio Team, Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France.
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23
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Zare A, Pourfathollah AA, Pourpak Z, Szebeni J, Ghaffari SMR, Kardar GA. Peptide-based Vaccines Derived from FcεRI Beta Subunit Can Reduce Allergic Response in Mice Model. Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol 2017; 16:289-297. [PMID: 28865408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/12/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Current therapeutic approaches in allergic diseases especially asthma generally focus on using immunological strategies. According to the importance of FceRI in controlling allergic response we used two extracellular regions of Fc epsilon receptor I (FceRI) beta subunit peptides to design two peptide-based vaccines. Probably these peptides vaccines by triggering the immune response to FceRI can reduce the allergic symptoms through blocking the IgE specific receptor. Two extracellular parts of FceRI beta subunit were made by peptide synthesizer and conjugated with keyhole limpet Hemocyanin. These conjugated peptides were used and evaluated as therapeutic vaccines in allergic airway inflammation mouse model. Total IgE and anti ovalbumin specific IgE were measured in mice serum and compared in vaccinated and unvaccinated allergic mice. Histamine, prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), IL-4 and IL-13 were measured in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid of vaccinated allergic mice versus unvaccinated and histopathologic examination were performed in studied groups. After vaccination of mice with each of the peptide vaccines the specific antibodies titer increased significantly in vaccinated groups versus unvaccinated. In histopathologic study, lavage eosinophil percentage and peribronchial inflammation in lung sections of vaccinated groups was decreased (p<0.05). Also the allergic components including total IgE, anti ovalbumin specific IgE, histamine, PGD2, IL-4, and IL-13 showed substantial decline in vaccinated allergic mice. Thus targeting the extracellular regions of FceRI beta subunit by peptide-based vaccines and induction of specific antibodies against them can reduce allergic responses in allergic mice model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahad Zare
- Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Akbar Pourfathollah
- Department of Immunology Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Zahra Pourpak
- Immunology, Asthma and Allergy Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Janos Szebeni
- Nanomedicine Research and Education Center, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Gholam Ali Kardar
- Immunology, Asthma and Allergy Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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24
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Fuaad AAHA, Skwarczynski M, Toth I. The Use of Microwave-Assisted Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis and Click Chemistry for the Synthesis of Vaccine Candidates Against Hookworm Infection. Methods Mol Biol 2016; 1403:639-653. [PMID: 27076158 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3387-7_36] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
A protein-based vaccine approach against hookworm infection has failed to deliver the expected outcome, due to a problem with an allergic response in the patient or difficulties in the proteins' production. This implication could be overcome by using a chemically synthesized peptide-based vaccine approach. This approach utilizes minimal pathogenic components that are necessary for the stimulation of the immune response without triggering adverse side effects. To boost the peptide's immunogenicity, a lipid core peptide (LCP) system can be utilized as a carrier molecule/immunostimulant. This chapter describes in detail the synthesizing of protected lipoamino acid, the self-adjuvanting moiety (LCP core), the peptide epitope, and the final vaccine candidate. The subunit peptide and the LCP core were synthesized using microwave-assisted solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). Then the final hookworm vaccine construct was assembled using the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition, or "click," reaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdullah A H Ahmad Fuaad
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Mariusz Skwarczynski
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
| | - Istvan Toth
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, QLD, 4102, Australia
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25
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Kakhi Z, Frisch B, Bourel-Bonnet L, Hemmerlé J, Pons F, Heurtault B. Airway administration of a highly versatile peptide-based liposomal construct for local and distant antitumoral vaccination. Int J Pharm 2015; 496:1047-56. [PMID: 26602294 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2015.11.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2015] [Revised: 11/13/2015] [Accepted: 11/14/2015] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
With the discovery of tumor-associated antigens such as ErbB2, vaccination is considered as a promising strategy to prevent the development of cancer or treat the existing disease. Among routes of immunization, the respiratory route provides the opportunity to develop non-invasive approach for vaccine delivery. In the current study, this administration route was used in order to investigate the potency of a highly versatile di-epitopic liposomal construct to exhibit local or distant antitumoral efficiency after prophylactic or therapeutic vaccination in mice. Well-characterized liposomes, containing the ErbB2 (p63-71) TCD8(+) and HA (p307-319) TCD4(+) peptide epitopes and the Pam2CAG adjuvant, were formulated and administered into the airway of naïve BALB/c mice. The nanoparticle vaccine candidate induced local and specific systemic immune response, as measured by immune cell infiltration and chemokine and cytokine production in BALF or lung tissue, and by spleen T-cell activation ex vivo, respectively. This potent immune response resulted in an efficient antitumor activity against both lung and solid s.c. tumors. Interestingly, the antitumor efficacy was observed after both prophylactic and therapeutic vaccinations, which are the most judicious ones to fight cancer. Our data showed an undeniable interest of liposomal peptide-based vaccines in antitumor vaccination by the respiratory route, opening new perspectives for cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Kakhi
- Equipe de Biovectorologie, Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199CNRS/Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France
| | - Benoît Frisch
- Equipe de Biovectorologie, Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199CNRS/Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France
| | - Line Bourel-Bonnet
- Equipe de Biovectorologie, Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199CNRS/Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France
| | | | - Françoise Pons
- Equipe de Biovectorologie, Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199CNRS/Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France.
| | - Béatrice Heurtault
- Equipe de Biovectorologie, Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199CNRS/Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France.
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26
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Takano T, Morioka H, Gomi K, Tomizawa K, Doki T, Hohdatsu T. Screening and identification of T helper 1 and linear immunodominant antibody-binding epitopes in spike 1 domain and membrane protein of feline infectious peritonitis virus. Vaccine 2014; 32:1834-40. [PMID: 24530149 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.01.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2013] [Revised: 01/21/2014] [Accepted: 01/28/2014] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIP virus: FIPV) causes a fatal disease in wild and domestic cats. The development of an FIP-preventive vaccine requires an antigen that does not induce antibody-dependent enhancement, and T helper (Th)1 activity plays an important role in protect against FIPV infection. In the present study, we identified synthetic peptides including Th1 and a linear immunodominant antibody-binding epitope in the S1 domain and M protein of FIPV. We also identified peptides that strongly induce Th1 activity from those derived from the structural proteins (S, M, and N proteins) of FIPV based on this and previous studies (Satoh et al. [19]). No Th1 epitope-containing peptide was identified in the peptides derived from the S1 domain of type I FIPV. In contrast, 7 Th1 epitope-containing peptides were identified in the S1 domain of type II FIPV, and no linear immunodominant antibody-binding epitope was contained in any of these peptides. Eleven Th1 epitope-containing peptides common to each serotype were identified in the M protein-derived peptides, and 2 peptides (M-11 and M-12) contained the linear immunodominant antibody-binding epitope. Of the peptides derived from the S, M, and N proteins of FIPV, those that induced significantly stronger Th1 activity than that of the FIPV antigen were rescreened, and 4 peptides were identified. When 3 of these peptides (M-9, I-S2-15, and II-S1-24) were selected and administered with CpG-ODNs to SPF cats, M-9 and II-S1-24 induced Th1 activity. Our results may provide important information for the development of a peptide-based vaccine against FIPV infection.
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